Abstract
Weathering rates of base cations are crucial in critical load calculations and assessments of sustainable forestry. The weathering rate on a single site with detailed geological data can be modelled using the PROFILE model. For environmental assessments on a regional scale, the weathering rates for sites are scaled into regional maps. The step from sites to regional level requires focus on the spatial variation of weathering rates. In this paper, a method is presented by which weathering rates are calculated for 25589 Swedish sites with total elemental analysis for the soil. Based on a part of the results, a methodology for creating area covering maps by geostatistical analysis and kriging is described. A normative reconstruction model was used to transform total elemental analysis to mineralogy. Information from the Swedish Forest Inventory database and other databases were used to derive texture and other important information for the sites, e.g. climate, deposition and vegetation data. The calculated weathering rates show a regional pattern that indicates possibilities for interpolation of data in large parts of Sweden. Geostatistical analysis of an area in southern Sweden shows different properties for different base cations. Kriging was performed for potassium to demonstrate the method. It was concluded that different base cations and different regions have to be analysed separately, in order to optimise the kriging method.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barkman, A. and Alveteg, M.: 2001, ‘Identifying potentials for reducing uncertainty in critical load calculation using the PROFILE model’, Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 125, 35-54.
Bertills, U. and Lövblad, G.: 2002, ‘Kritisk belastning för svavel och kväve’, Technical Report, Rapport 5174, Naturvårdsverket, Stockholm (in Swedish).
Holmqvist, J.: 2001, ‘Modelling chemical weathering in different scales’, Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Chemical Engineering II, Lund University.
Olsson, M., Rosén, K. and Melkerud, P-A.: 1993, ‘Regional modelling of base cation losses from Swedish forest soils due to whole-tree harvesting’, Appl. Geochem. Suppl. Issue 2, 189-194.
Pačes, T.: 1986, ‘Weathering rates of gneiss and depletion of exchangeable cations in soils under environmental acidification’, J. Geol. Soc. 143, 673-677.
Posch, M., de Smet, P. A. M., Hettelingh, J-P. and Downing, R. (eds): 2001, ‘Modelling and Mapping of Critical Thresholds in Europe. Status Report 2001’, Technical Report, RIVM Report No. 259101010, Coordination Center for Effects, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Rosengren-Brinck, U., Nihlgård, B., Bengtsson, M. and Thelin, G.: 1998, ‘Samband mellan barrförlust, barrkemi och markkemi i Skåne’, Technical Report, Barrförlust och luftföroreningar, Rapport 4890, Naturvårdsverket, Stockholm.
SAEFL: 1998, ‘Critical loads of acidity for forest soils’, Technical Report, Environmental Documentation No. 88, Air/Forest, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forest and Landscape (SAEFL), Bern, Switzerland.
Sverdrup, H. and Warfvinge, P.: 1993, ‘Calculating field weathering rates using a mechanistic geochemical model (PROFILE)’, J. Appl. Geochem. 8, 273-283.
Sverdrup, H. and Warfvinge, P.: 1995, ‘Estimating field weathering rates using laboratory kinetics’, in A. F. White and S. L. Brantly (eds), Chemical Weathering of Silicate Minerals, Mineralogical Society of America, Washington DC, Reviews in Mineralogy, Vol. 31, pp. 485-541.
Sverdrup, H., Warfvinge, P. and Rosén, K.: 1996, ‘Critical loads of acidity and nitrogen, based on multiple criteria for different Swedish ecosystems’, Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 85, 2375-2380.
Warfvinge, P. and Sverdrup, H.: 1995, ‘Critical Loads of Acidity to Swedish Forest Soils’, Technical Report, Department of Chemical Engineering II, Lund University, Lund.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Akselsson, C., Holmqvist, J., Alveteg, M. et al. Scaling and Mapping Regional Calculations of Soil Chemical Weathering Rates in Sweden. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution: Focus 4, 671–681 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:WAFO.0000028386.89557.fa
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:WAFO.0000028386.89557.fa